Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 8.5/10
An E.P. will afford the listener a greater slice of time in which to become acquainted with the music than a single release will; the only downside is that if the first track does not grab them, then unlike the weighty option of the vinyl grandparent of the 12-inch album, the chances are that the listener will slide the music into the obscure pile and move onto something else quickly.
Such is the way of the world today that there is barely any middle ground in which to pitch the tent of growing ideas because people for the most part fall into two camps, the long in-depth relationship, or the kind in which you would scuttle Upstairs for a quick listen, the fix of the immediate gratification.
If the thought of middle ground leaves a listener fumbling for expression, then perhaps the best thing to do is offer it with even greater sincerity, with higher expectation, with style, for the single may give you a buzz, but the E.P. can leave them with a lingering need to explore deeper, and through the artistry of Rick Senley and Drew Campbell’s combination in the fascinating Novy Zembler, Upstairs is where you will find true expressionism against the bargain basement rallying call.
To be able to express yourself in a period of time, which can find artists and the public on the wrong side of understanding, is a gift, a reward for the bravery and courage shown for putting the head and mind above the parapet of easy decisions and the foxhole of repeating older styles.
It is times of adversity that unique voices and originality come forth, and they arguably don’t come much more exclusive and matchless than Messer’s Senley and Campbell, and in true indomitable style, their E.P., containing within its numbers the theatrical distinctions Altro, Silverhum, November, and the title track of Upstairs, is a moment in time when the single is botted from the front page of inspection, and instead what clearly replaces it is passion, to recite mor than just a paragraph, and instead show the power, the tightness, the truth behind an entire short story; one that grips with immediacy and persuasion.
Novy Zembler is Upstairs, waiting to introduce you to a whole new breed of music clientele and irreplaceable times.
Ian D. Hall